Generally, wireless data communication between different devices is known and used in different fields of technology. In many fields of technology, it is desirable to replace or avoid wired data communication in order to alleviate the drawbacks usually associated with wired data communication.
Such drawbacks include, for example, that the physical cables or leads required for corresponding connections can pose a safety hazard in that they can interfere with human users operating the connected components. In particular, if many cable connections are present, managing the cables and ensuring that the connections are not inadvertently interrupted can become a cumbersome task. In addition to electric wiring, medical machines such as blood treatment machines can exhibit a number of other similar connections, for example, blood lines and/or medical fluid lines. Consequently, if many connections are present, a disconnection or erroneous connection can pose a more or less critical risk for the treatment and/or the patient.
In some environments, electromagnetic or other interference can negatively affect the wired connections. Additionally, connections between different devices and/or from a device to a wall outlet can restrict the placement of the devices with respect to one another and/or with respect to the outlet or outlets. Consequently, the electrical layout of the environment in which the devices are to be operated has to be configured for operation of the machines. However, often the electrical layout would have to be adapted as the devices change over time and/or if the environment changes (e.g., if the devices have to be moved from one room to another). In most cases, the electrical layout cannot easily be adapted, because of the necessary construction work associated with changes to the internal wiring of a room or building.
Moving devices around might require connections being interrupted and subsequently re-established in that cables need to be unplugged and plugged in again. Common networking connections might additionally require corresponding patching of connections at a central location (i.e. physically disconnecting and re-connecting of patch cables at, for example, a patch panel and/or a network switch).
In case of medical accessories that are designed to, for example, acquire physical data (e.g. pressure, heart rate, temperature, etc.) from a patient before, during, or after treatment, the use of a medical accessory that relies on a wired connection to other components very much restricts the mobility of the patient.
In some cases, while the patient might be restricted in some manner depending upon treatment or medical condition, the use of medical accessories attached to or otherwise carried by the patient might not require any particular restriction. For example, the medical accessory might facilitate monitoring of patient parameters over a longer period of time, in which the patient is generally present within the hospital, without requiring being connected to any particular machine or outlet.
Wireless data connections can alleviate or avoid one or more of the above drawbacks of wired connections, but can entail other drawbacks.
One significant drawback of wireless connections is that wireless connections are typically more difficult to set up than wired connections. In the case of the latter, a user can simply use a suitable cable, identify the two devices to be connected (or one device and a wall outlet), and plug in the connectors located on each end of the cable. Typically, the connectors are configured to connect only to a matching socket in a single manner (e.g. orientation, male/female plugs, color coding, etc.), thereby ensuring a proper connection. In particular, there is very little chance for two devices being connected unintentionally, due to the devices having to be present and the user having to physically identify and connect the devices on-site.
Wireless connections cannot be established in the same way as wired connections, due to the lack of a tangible connection medium. In contrast, the transceiver units integrated into wireless devices have to be programmed and configured to connect with corresponding counterparts, wherein all devices that are intended to participate in wireless data communication with each other have to operate in accordance with the same communication protocols and standards and have to be configured in a manner corresponding to each other (e.g. requiring matching configuration data).
For example, the Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) IEEE 802.11 standards include media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specifications for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6, 5 and 60 GHz frequency bands. In order for a device to establish a data communication using WLAN, corresponding hard- and software components are necessary, as well as a configuration that typically has to be provided upon on-site integration of the device into a WLAN network and/or WLAN ad-hoc connection.
This configuration can include, for example, several technical parameters depending upon the local network configuration. In some examples, a user wishing to integrate a device into a WLAN has to provide the correct Service Set Identifier (SSID) or “network name” the local network has been given, the correct channel (corresponding to a particular frequency or frequency range) that the local network operates on, and—if used—the correct encryption parameters (e.g. a pre-shared key or other credentials) that are required by the encryption standard used (e.g. wired protected access (WPA, WPA2), wired equivalent privacy (WEP), etc.).
Depending upon additional network protocols, the user might have to specify additional networking parameters. For example, if the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) is used as the transport and network layer, then it might be necessary for the user to provide IP addresses for the device itself, a gateway, a router, one or more name servers (for the domain name system (DNS)), one or more proxies, and/or other devices, as well as further technical parameters (e.g. a subnet mask, etc.).
WO 2008/129344 (A1) describes a method for setting up a fluid treatment apparatus using a single and always accessible reader of information relating to replaceable components, which are to be mounted on the apparatus to perform the fluid treatment. A fluid treatment apparatus having a reader that is always accessible is also described. The reader can also be relied on to enter information other that those relating to the replaceable components, such as commands for the apparatus, patient related information, etc.
One significant factor is that the setting up of a wireless operating communication is a non-trivial task requiring some expertise in the field of wireless communications. Often, medical personnel operating the devices and accessories are not trained to be sufficiently proficient in setting up and running extensive networks of many devices and accessories that are linked in a wireless network. Further, even if the medical personnel were sufficiently proficient, or even if a supporting staff of technicians were available to fulfill such duties, the problem of securing safe operation of the multiple devices and accessories remains. In day to day operations, typically many accessories need to be linked wirelessly to a number of devices, wherein a medical accessory can be, for example, associated to a first patient and linked to a first device (e.g. a blood treatment device) in the morning. Subsequently, the patient has to undergo a different treatment and the wireless operating communication between the medical accessory and the first device is closed and a wireless operating communication to a second device has to be established later in the morning. In the afternoon, the medical accessory can be associated to a second patient undergoing the same or another series of treatments, again requiring several times establishing and closing communication with one or more devices.
All this time it must be ensured that the wireless operating communication is established between the devices and accessories that are actually intended to be linked together. In some cases, a number of blood treatment devices can be located in a single room and a number of patients undergoing blood treatment and each provided with their personal medical accessory (e.g. a pressure cuff) need to be taken care of, requiring being connected to a respective blood treatment device and also requiring the medical accessory being put into wireless operating communication with the respective blood treatment device. It is apparent that a misconfiguration of the wireless operating configuration (e.g., leading to the medical accessory of one patient being mistakenly put into wireless operating communication not with the corresponding blood treatment device, but another one next to the correct one) can lead to potentially disastrous effects for the health of either patient being treated in connection with any of the affected devices and/or accessories. Therefore, it is imperative that a wireless operating communication is established only between the devices and accessories for which the communication is intended.
It is further obvious that the above-described problem affects any device and any accessory potentially connected to a same network—regardless of the location of the device or accessory. Due to the wireless communication and, possibly, a common network providing a supporting infrastructure, a medical accessory can potentially establish a wireless operating communication with any suitable device on the network (e.g. irrespective of the location of the device), such that patient data, treatment data, or any other data can be transmitted on a regular basis and independently from the location of either device/accessory. For example, a physician can collect the history of the blood pressure and other patient parameters over a period of time where the patient is present within a hospital. During this time, the accessory associated with the patient and wirelessly linked to the device used by the physician for his monitoring of the patient's data, can transmit the patient data on a regular basis before, during, and after a treatment session. At the same time, the accessory can be configured to establish a wireless operating communication (also) with a blood treatment device for the period it takes for the patient to undergo a blood treatment session, thereby providing patient data (also) to the blood treatment machine. All this requires that the accessory can be safely configured to establish and close wireless operating connections with different devices.
Another significant factor in setting up wireless devices is that typically the input of the aforementioned configuration data requires corresponding input and output components, for example a display, keyboard, etc. While some devices already necessitate such I/O components for their intended use (e.g. personal computers, tablet computers, etc.), therefore being equipped with these components in any case, some other devices can be operated without the need for any such I/O components designed for user interaction, therefore lacking such I/O components. Some medical accessories can be designed to merely be in data communication with another device in order to take measurements and to transmit the measured value or values taken to the other device without providing a display or a keyboard. A pressure cuff, for example, can be configured to measure the blood pressure of a patient and to communicate the measured values at regular intervals to a blood treatment device. In order for the pressure cuff to operate, full-fledged I/O components are typically not required, except few simple components such as start/stop, on/off, reset, or similar buttons, and/or some indicators (e.g. lamps, LEDs, etc.) indicating an operating status of the pressure cuff.
Even though medical accessories would often very much benefit from a wireless operating communication due to their size and usage properties, the lack of I/O components providing input means allowing for the necessary input of configuration data in order to establish a wireless operating communication often prevents such use and a wired communication is established instead.
Therefore, a mechanism is required that allows for an easy, safe, and efficient way to establish a wireless operating communication between a medical accessory and a medical device, such as a blood treatment device.